Greetings, Pam! One of the lovely things about the B diet is that you do benefit from certain red meats, but you need eat them only in small portions and infrequently. The frequency table in Live Right 4 Your Type gives minimums of 2 servings per week for B Asians & Caucasians, up to 4 servings minimum per week for nonsecretors ~ if you are Rh negative you'd add 1 serving to those minimums. These need not be all red meat: the neutral fowl turkey, ostrich and pheasant are incorporated therein as well. Does fish suit you better? Almost all of the commonest fishes are either Beneficial or Neutral for you, and those minimum frequencies run to only 3 or 4 times per week. The alternatives of beans, seeds and nuts for protein are least suited to your type -- the marked sensitivity of Bs to so many of the legume/seed plant lectins would severely limit your choices, and the protein assimilation from these foods in Bs is far from ideal. Yes, they'd keep you alive, but I hope you're more interested in optimal health, and healing of your conditions, than mere survival.

I have to comment upon your ob/gyn's recommendation: it is the classic one-type-fits-all approach. It applies beautifully to nearly 90% of the population (Os and As), but was never fine-tuned to the requirements of ABO-mediated biochemistry. I urge you to study the type B chapters in Live Right 4 Your Type and decide whether the advice your medical practitioners have given you in regard to diet (a discipline in which most of them have received less than 10 hours' of instruction) is based in actual knowledge of what will help YOU, or if it is mere hearsay based upon studies in which your unique makeup was not represented.

The Membrane Fluidizer Cocktail (MFC) is a tablespoon of flax oil, a tablespoon of lecithin, and eight ounces of the fruit juice of your choice, shaken or blended. It works so well for Peter's patients that he noted it in Eat Right 4 Your Type and Live Right 4 Your Type. The best way to see if it helps you is to try it. I suspect you'll notice some pleasant surprises!

Pam, I hope these thoughts will help guide your way a bit. Let me know if you have more questions! :-)

If 5-HTP works well for you, it may be because you're a nonsecretor. Works wonders for us. You can up it to 150 mg twice daily, and see how your snooze project progresses! Tryptophan is so abundant in turkey (a goodie for Bs) that I'm sure you can supplement it without harm, and probably with excellent results. Don't forget to include a little real turkey now and again... especially homemade turkey soup with its broth, blah blah blah, you know my views on this!! ;->

I fully empathize with your squeamishness over ingesting hormones -- believe me, I've no love of such things. However, Peter recommends the melatonin for type B insomnia, and so I shall as well. You see, this is not forever. Menopause is not a permanent condition! LOL, thank God!! :-D So if you need it, do it, and no worries there.

Here's another tiny tip: add some MethylB12 (available in our online store), first thing when you rise in the morning -- an hour before eating. Try one cap, and slowly up it to three if needed. It helps regulate your cortisol "clock" in the morning, to encourage sound sleep at night.

This entry was posted on May 24th, 2000 at 07:51:00 am and is filed under On The Diet.